Deer Program
A hunter posing with her
first deer, Sharkey County, MS
The MDWFP White-tailed Deer Program's goal is to provide a quality white-tailed deer population statewide and offer maximum outdoor recreational opportunity to the public without negatively affecting the resource. Mississippi's deer population is estimated to be 1.75 million, with hunters harvesting approximately 280,000 deer annually. Deer Program Biologists provide deer related technical guidance to managers on private and public lands, conduct seminars, speak publicly, write articles for professional publications, conduct statewide disease surveillance, and assist Mississippi State University with deer research projects. Currently there are four Regional Deer Biologists in the White-tailed Deer Program with many other MDWFP biologists assisting with the Deer Program's annual activities.
As the center stone of the Deer Program, the Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) is a comprehensive deer management program, consisting of data collection and cooperator education with which the MDWFP tries to put the landowner/cooperator in a better position to manage their lands for a healthy deer herd, while maintaining habitat integrity. Data from the program are used to develop site specific harvest recommendations, and have prompted numerous research projects to help better understand deer biology. Annually, there are 600+ DMAP cooperators covering over 2.5 million acres in Mississippi.
In addition to working with private landowners, Deer Program Biologists also provide technical assistance on various local, state, and federal public lands across the state. Some of the assistance provided to the Wildlife Management Area (WMA) program includes habitat modification recommendations, deer harvest analysis, spring herd health evaluations, population surveys, deer disease surveillance, and regulation recommendations.
MDWFP is also required by the MS Legislature to regulate all commercial and noncommercial wild animal enclosures in order to conserve and protect native wildlife for all citizens to enjoy and to protect our recreational economy dependent on native wildlife resources. The objective of the Enclosure Program is to regulate enclosures containing white-tailed deer by conducting annual inspections and issuing permits as defined in Public Notice W1-3780.
A hunter posing with his first deer, Jones County, MS
North Region
Biologist
Lann Wilf
(662) 299-1454
lannw@mdwfp.state.ms.us
Central Region
Biologist
William McKinley
(662) 582-6111
williamm@mdwfp.state.ms.us
East Central Region
Biologist
David Graves
(361) 935-1069
davidg@mdwfp.state.ms.us
Southwest Region
Biologist
Kamen Campbell
(601) 757-0913
KamenC@mdwfp.state.ms.us
Southeast Region
Biologist
Justin Thayer
(985) 218-0491
justin.thayer@mdwfp.state.ms.us
Rules & Regulations
- 2012-2013 Deer Hunting Seasons, Bag Limits, and Other Regulations
- Fully Enclosed Deer Stands
- Crossbows
- Primitive Weapons
- Supplemental Feeding Regulations
- Supplemental Feeding FAQ's
Deer Management
- Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP)
- Deer Program Annual Report (2012 REPORT NOW AVAIABLE!)
- Diseases & Abnormalities
- Enclosures
- Food Plots
- Deer Breeding Date Map
- Deer Management Zones
- How to Estimate Inside Spread and Main Beam Length
- Camera Survey Permit Application
Additional Resources
